Scoobywagon

Want to see a pic? I photo-chopped it. It'll be pretty awesome when I get it done. I think.

They're just called conical washers. Let me hunt around in my garage. Pretty sure there's at least one or two floating around in there.

Ok...here's the deal.... I've dreamed up a little project and I need to come up with a pair of donor cars. I know some of you have old parts cars that you've pretty much stripped out. That's perfect! What I need is a pair of L-body wagons. I'd prefer that they were reasonably straight, at least in the back. If you've already gutted the interior, EXCELLENT! I'd also prefer that they have some rolling stock to make transporting easier. Fuel tanks would be nice, too. So if you've got a parts wagon or two that you're thinking you need to get rid of, PLEASE let me know before you junk it! Thanks!

I stripped a hub in california and drove it 600 miles home so I could change it. Yes. You can run it around in 4wd with a stripped hub. No problems. Wouldn't recommend it long term, but it'll DEFINITELY get you by.

Low pressure would not cause this problem. If low refrigerant pressure was the problem, it wouldn't come back on at restart. It would still be low. As for the pressure switch...its usually located on the receiver/dryer, but not always. I'd have to look up the application at work. I don't feel that is your problem either. Those switches are very simple. They either work or they don't. They don't care whether the car is running or not. have you put a set off guages on the car? If not, how did you determine that your refrigerant was low? If you have, what were the high-side and low-side pressures with the car running? Here is my thought...If the system builds up too much pressure, it will turn off so as to keep the compressor from eating itself. If your car has the automatic climate control system, and most of the LL Bean cars that I've seen do, the computer may be seeing the high pressure and turning off the compressor. And for safety reasons, it may be keeping the compressor off until you restart when pressures are normal again. The other possibility that occurs to me right this moment is that your climate control system is having some sort of problem. Of the two, I'd much rather have the first problem. That should be pretty straight forward to track down and most of the parts you'd need to correct any of the several causes of high pressure are inexpensive. The CCS problem is easy enough to track down, but that control unit is expensive!

Ok...so the problem resides with the keyless entry system. If you've replaced the battery in the remote with no improvement, then you've likely got a keyless entry control unit problem and that really means a replacement. Its a stand alone module in most cases and so is easily replaceable. That's really the only route available to you. These things are very "black box" in that everything they do is internal. Yes, a good electronics tech could probably sort it out, but that would get very expensive in time/labor. The other option, of course, is to install an aftermarket system. Just a thought.

Yes. Tempered glass isn't a problem to get out. Matter of fact, I think I have a couple of them out in my garage from parts cars over the years...because you never know.

For those who may be in the market for a whole car, I also highly recommend Mike Scarff Subaru. My wife and I bought her Forester there in January and it was the easiest car-buying experience I've ever had.

Just bumping it up. We do autoglass, mobile electronics, A/C, Cruise. Pretty much anything that doesn't make the car stop or go.

You're asking about central locking, but talking about a remote which suggests a keyless entry problem. These are separate systems in the car. Generally, Keyless Entry means just that. You have a remote to lock and unlock the car allowing you to enter the car without a key. Central locking systems generally use the driver's door lock as a "master" lock. Essentially, the driver's door lock actuator knows what position it is in. When its position changes, it then tells all the other doors in the vehicle to be in the same position. So...when your car is misbehaving, what does it do? Does it fail to unlock from the remote at all? Does it only unlock the driver's door?

Ok, so my legacy wagon needs a MAJOR overhaul in the suspension dept. I figure most suspension parts should swap readily between models, but I thought I'd ask here before I start buying parts that won't fit. The goal for this is to improve ride and handling. Ok...mostly handling. I wouldn't mind lowering it just a tad, but I'm not making that a goal here. I thought I'd go for struts and springs from a later model legacy GT or Legacy Turbo. However, since they seem to be easier to locate, I wouldn't be above using Impreza struts and Legacy springs. I'll be fabricating all my own bushings for this. Any particular combinations that just won't work or that I should stay away from? Thanks!

I have frequently thought about cutting the tails out of two GL wagons just ahead of the wheel wells. Butt the open ends together and put a hitch on it. Then you'd have an enclosed trailer with access at both ends.

Yes, that feature lives in the switch. Its essentially a circuit breaker. If you want to have auto up/down on the others, Directed Electronics makes a window automation module that (I think) will do the trick. Its actually designed to be used with an alarm, but I believe you can make it work with the buttons. If you're interested, let me know and I'll look up the part number and application.

If you want something that will kick the back hatch open, you'll need something sturdier than a standard door actuator. What you need is a door pull solenoid. For your hatch, you'll probably want something in the 40+ lb range. A good one will likely run you somewhere around $100. That solenoid will be able to pull hard enough to open the catch. These hatches are a bit heavy, though, so you may want to add a spring to the bottom of the hatch. That way, the solenoid will release the hatch and the spring will push it open just a bit so that when the solenoid quits pulling, the catch won't just re-close on the latch bar. There are even ways to make that work on your factory keyless entry system. If you have questions about how this works, let me know.

Amanda, Here is my advice as the manager of a shop that does automotive glass work. Leaking sunroofs are generally not covered under ANY warranty except where, as mentioned, the sunroof has been improperly installed. The reason for this is that all sunroofs leak. They are designed to do so in a controlled way because they inherently leave a gaping hole in your roof. Essentially, a sunroof consists of 3 parts. The glass, the mechanism and and the drip tray. The way its supposed to work is that water runs of the glass and down into the drip tray. The tray has 4 drain lines that run down to each corner of the car. Unfortunately, those drain lines are usually less than 1/4" so they plug up easily. Thus, a leaking sunroof is considered a maintenance item, like an oil change, not a repair item, such as an engine replacement. Any decent glass shop should be able to clean your drains. You may want to ask about any recommendations for how often to clean them out. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we have a lot of evergreen trees. So we recommend that sunroof drains be cleaned out every 2 years or so.

OK, folks....here's the breakdown on refrigerants for mobile A/C use. Up until 1994, cars came from the factory with R12. It is a ChloroFluoroCarbon (CFC), so the EPA has gone to a lot of trouble to get it off the market and, eventually, out of circulation entirely. So it has been taxed and evironmental-fee'd so that now you can only buy it if you have a license to use it and it costs about $80/lb. Also, when burned it becomes EXTREMELY toxic. If you should have a major leak develop under your hood while the engine is running, your engine will very happily spit out Phosgene Gas through your tail pipe. If you want to know what that will do to you (in the car) and the person following you, click here. 1994 was the first year that the EPA required new vehicles to be equipped with R134a. R134a (tetrafluroethane) is a HydroFluoroCarbon (HFC) and has been deemed by the almighty EPA a safer, cleaner alternative to R12. When burned, R134a produces Hydrogen Fluoride gas. R134a is less than half the cost of R12 at about $30/lb. The other option is what is known as R12a. R12a is a hydrocarbon refrigerant. It is, in fact, a blend of hydrocarbons, specifically Butane and Propane. As such, various brands will perform differently because their formulations will likely be different. For this reason it is recommended that you do not mix brands of R12a as A/C system performance can be affected. Also, because it is a blend, in the event of a leak, the refrigerant is not recoverable because the lighter portions will leak off faster than the heavier portions. As for burning R12a, what you get out of the tailpipe will depend to some extent on what specific blend you have. But, as a rule, R12a is fairly hard to ignite. R12a will generally cost you about $25 per 6 oz can. That works out to about $66.67 per pound. That sounds like an awful lot, but that's really not the case when you get right down to it. For comparison, we'll use R12 as the baseline for cooling capacity. We'll also assume that everything else in the system is equal. Really, we could just assume that we're repeatedly charging the same system with various refrigerants. If this theoretical A/C system requires 1 pound (16 oz, $80) of R12, it would require approximately 1.25 lbs (20 oz $37.50) of R134a or .625 lbs (10 oz, $41.66) of R12a. This reflects the difference in cooling capacity between the 3 refrigerants. So it sounds like you should go with R134a because its the cheapest, right? Maybe. But maybe not. Since there's more R134a in the system to make it cool properly, you'll generally get higher head pressures at the pump. The compressor is having to work harder to move the refrigerant around properly and that leads to both reduced fuel mileage and, in some cases, reduced compressor life. Also, most cars require some form of conversion process in order to run R134a properly. That requires both parts and labor, the cost of which varies greatly from car to car. Since there is LESS R12a in the system, you get a corresponding drop in head pressures leading to increased fuel mileage and improved compressor life. In this case, the EPA still mandates a "conversion" process. However, simply changing the service port fittings over from the R12 style fittings to the newer R134a fittings meets their criteria for a "conversion". And, because R12a is a direct replacement for R12, no further conversion is required. As far as "flushing" out an A/C system...the reality is I've never seen that actually done at any shop, even those who advertise "A/C Flushing" service. There's simply no need. Most places that advertise A/C flushing service do nothing of the sort. All they really do is evac the system, replace the receiver/dryer and recharge. That's it. Most receiver/dryer's will run you $30-50. Cheap insurance when you think about it. The green goo that you get out of the system is usually just oil with fluorescent dye in it. Most systems will have 4-7 ounces of oil in them. Larger systems will, of course, have more oil.

Its a warranty item. Most factory amplifiers don't get discrete power in the same way as aftermarket amps. So its kinda hard to say its a power connection problem. Even if it is a power problem, it comes back to a warranty issue. Any competent stereo shop could troubleshoot it, but you'd be spending a bunch of money for a troubleshoot only to learn that the problem is either somewhere in the factory wiring harness (warranty item) or in the amp itself (warranty item). So take it back to the dealership and make them take care of it. There's a fair chance it will end up at a competent stereo shop anyway, but at least that way it will still be covered under warranty.

STP filters are usually rebadged Fram filters. They use a paper filter element with cardboard retainer caps. I used to use them and had ZERO problems with them. But then I ran across several instances where the filter element had failed and bits of it got pushed through the engine. Not pretty. WIX filters are all that I use. Then again, I use full synthetic motor oil. I do oil changes every 15,000 with filter changes every 4500 or so. Just change the filter, top up the crank case and keep motoring.

Essentially, no. It cannot be repaired. However, any AC shop should be able to build a hose for you. It is also possible that the proper hose already exists in the aftermarket. I'll check with one of my suppliers in the morning.

Urethane is really not a sealant. Its an adhesive. And a bloody strong one at that. Once its completely cured, and that takes a while, it will take some SERIOUS abuse.

Sika's SikaFlex220 Urethane and an Aktivator pad will straighten it out. And yes, once cured, it will take 150+ psi.

I have 2 Snap-On cordless impact guns. 1/2" and 3/8". I find that I used them for all R&R operations. The 3/8 has a really sensitive trigger. I can use it to install car stereos (steel screws into threaded plastic bosses) without breaking anything, but it also has enough grunt to tear the head off of the bolts in the carrier in the rear diff of a Legacy. Which it did once when I loaned it to a friend. As for the big one....well, the only bolt I've run across yet that it couldn't move is the hub bolt on a 43 year old UNIMOG. But, in fairness, the torque spec on those is QUITE high. As a result of that particular operation, I now also own a 3/4" drive ratchet with a 30 degree bend in the shaft just behind the head. But that was all 230lbs of me on 5 feet of cheater pipe. And bouncing.

Talked to my distributor. In 03, the compressors are interchangeable between Legacy Outbacks regardless of engine type. However, after that, the H6 got a different compressor. Looks like the EJ25 kept using the same one. So....if you find an H6 in the wrecking yard, it needs to be an 03. However, most EJ25's from that block of years should be fine. And if you can get one for $60, even if it doesn't work, you can go through about 6 of them, including labor to swap, for what a reman compressor will cost you. Those be some SPENDY boogers!

Sorry, nipper. I don't know of any other manufacturer's using MacIntosh audio systems so I can't say.

Subaru uses both Clarion and Panasonic to produce their stereo systems. Clarion owns MacIntosh outright, so anything that ISN'T home stereo and says "MacIntosh" on it actually has Clarion guts in it. However, the MacIntosh stuff is generally sold as being the upscale model. Strangely, ordering a Subaru with the "upgraded" stereo does NOT get you better, or even different, speakers. They're the same old speakers you get in any other Subaru. So the reality is that the only difference between a MacIntosh system and just about any other factory system is cosmetics.